Many generations of young men were no longer living in the second half of the 19th century because of the Civil War. Many of those that survived traveled West to start a new life rather than return home to a war-torn South, or an unrecognizable North. These 14 hard-fought battles accounted for the majority of lives lost valiantly on both the Union and Confederate side of the war. There were many battles in the Civil War, but these specific battles captured the essence of the war that shook the very foundation of America, and had much to do with the formation of the young United States nation to come.